


Midnight Snack

by AniDragon



Series: Riona Shepard [2]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Religion, Shepard has poor impulse control
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-04
Updated: 2014-02-04
Packaged: 2018-01-11 05:16:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1169124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AniDragon/pseuds/AniDragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thane is curious and a bit concerned about one of Shepard's strange eating habits, and confronts her about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Midnight Snack

**Author's Note:**

> From a tumblr prompt by allxthexwords.

It took a few weeks before Thane was able to figure out the schedule to when Shepard would sneak into the mess hall in the middle of the night cycle. It was only when he thought to cross check with a human calendar that he noticed it would happen on most Friday nights.

At first, he didn’t pry. She was so careful to do this when there’d be no one else in the mess hall, that he presumed it must have been private. It was only when he noticed that she ate significantly less on Fridays, except for when they had missions, that concern won out. The next time he heard the elevator and the light footsteps he’d come to associate with her, he snuck out of his quarters and followed her, sticking to the shadows.

He found her standing at the kitchen counter, wolfing down the leftovers from suppertime – a pasta with meat sauce – a look of satisfaction and relief on her face.

He waited until she’d slowed down a bit before stepping out of the shadows. She jumped when she saw him, “Thane! I...”

He lifted a hand, “Forgive me, _Siha_. I didn’t mean to startle you. I... was craving a midnight snack. I see you had the same idea.”

She watched him curiously for a moment, then shook her head, “You’re not a great liar, Thane. Surprising, considering your profession.”

He chuckled, “I’m better at it when lives are on the line, but very well. I was concerned; You hadn’t eaten much during the day.”

“Still a bad liar,” She pointed her fork at him, “You’ve been watching me more intently on Fridays for a while now. You know this isn’t an isolated incident.”

He nodded, and she took another bite of the pasta as she seemed to consider her words. Finally she swallowed and put the fork down, “I suppose, you’ll probably understand better than just about anyone else on the crew. I fast on Fridays, for religious reasons. Not when we have missions, of course, I wouldn’t want to pass out on the battlefield. But when we’re in between missions, or in transit, like we were today, I make an effort to eat less... Until midnight, anyway.”

“I see,” Thane sat on the stool next to her, “Tell me about it?”

She smiled at him, finally sitting as well, “Well, it’s voluntary, but for those of us who choose to fast on penance days – That is, Fridays and certain holy days – We don’t eat meat. We can eat one large meal during the day, but otherwise we just have small snacks, usually bread. It’s always been a bit hard, what with my poor impulse control, but it’s... gotten a bit harder since I got Gardener those high quality provisions.”

Thane chuckled, “I would imagine it was easier to avoid food that wasn’t very good in the first place.”

“Exactly,” She picked up her fork and took another bit of pasta, then let out a small moan, “I love spaghetti, I was so worried there wasn’t going to be any leftovers. Last week someone ate all the Butter Chicken before I got to it.”

“I’m sure if you told Gardener, he’d put some aside for you.”

“I could,” Shepard shrugged, looking down, “But religion’s a bit of a touchy subject for humans. And my religion in particular is to blame for... well, the majority of that, so I try to keep it private as much as I can.”

“Then I will put some aside,” Thane assured her, “I can be discrete. And I’m sure if anyone notices, I can blame my biotics.”

“Thank you,” She put a hand on his arm, then leaned over to kiss his cheek.

She froze for a split second, then pulled away slightly, her cheeks red and her eyes turned away, “Um... Sorry... There’s that poor impulse control at work.”

He brought a hand up to her cheek, turning her face towards him, and brushing his thumb over her lower lip, “Don’t be.”

Her eyes glanced down to his lips, and she leaned forward to place a brief, hesitant kiss against them. He barely waited for her to start pulling away before he dove in for another, capturing her lips and lingering this time.

She was smiling when they parted, and Thane couldn’t help but to claim another quick kiss before smiling back at her, “I was hoping this was what you’d meant when you said that being friends was a start.”

“I still can’t believe I said that out loud,” She laughed, “I thought I was going to drop dead from embarrassment.”

“That would have been unfortunate,” He teased, “Especially considering how things turned out, _Siha_.”

“You still haven’t told me what that means,” Shepard raised an eyebrow, questioning.

Thane opened his mouth to speak, but then thought better of it, “It’s getting late, and there’s more to the word than a simple definition. Why don’t you come down and see me tomorrow, the next time you’re free?”

She nodded, then reached for his hand to squeeze it, “Alright. Good night, Thane, and... thank you.”

“Good night, _Siha_.”


End file.
